Issue 4

Economy shrinks at end of year (249 words)

The economy suffered a surprise contraction in the last quarter of 2010, official figures show. ...

Over 140,000 council jobs go so far (203 words)

The government has been accused of deliberately creating unemployment on a scale that we have not seen before as the GMB general union says ...

Take-home pay heads downwards (296 words)

While the boardroom may be sheltered from the cut in take-home pay talked of by Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England (see ...

Rotten safety culture at Network Rail exposed (313 words)

An independent review that exposes the rotten safety culture affecting rail workers in the UK has been delivered to Rick Haythornwaite, the chair of ...

Tribunal award limits rise next month (240 words)

New limits to the amount of compensation that an employment tribunal can award come into force on 1 February 2011. ...

Directors — what is a pay squeeze? (539 words)

There appears to be no threat to take-home pay in the boardroom despite the utterances of the governor of the Bank of England Mervyn ...

Manufacturing pay settlements stable (165 words)

Pay settlements in manufacturing have remained broadly stable ahead of the biggest period for wage negotiations this month, according to the latest figures from ...

Issue 3

Inflation rise piles on the misery (375 words)

Inflation has risen and will almost certainly rise further as the VAT rise to 20% and fuel duty rises will impact on next month’s ...

Rise in official jobless numbers continues (576 words)

Unemployment on the main official count has risen again, the latest figures show. Under the Labour Force Survey (LFS) count, unemployment rose by 49,000 ...

Councils' job loss tally tops over 125,000 (153 words)

More than 2,000 jobs are to be cut at three Conservative-controlled county councils in a bid to make multimillion-pound savings. ...

UK earnings growth stalled at 2.0% (327 words)

Weekly earnings growth has settled at the 2.0% mark in the past two months, according to the latest figures from the Office for National ...

Gay-friendly employers (220 words)

A government department — the Home Office — has been named as the best place to work for lesbian, gay and bisexual people by ...

Issue 2

Tribunal system under attack from employers (492 words)

The employment tribunal system is coming under attack from employer organisations as the government prepares to launch a major review of employment laws. Employees ...

Manufacturing set to lead recovery (370 words)

A continued strong performance from the UK’s manufacturing sector spurred on by solid growth in export orders is set to lead the continuing economic ...

Bankers’ bonuses (672 words)

Bankers’ bonuses became covered by a new code of practice introduced at the start of the year by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulatory ...

Default retirement age to be axed (154 words)

Despite opposition from employer organisations, the compulsory default retirement age (DRA) of 65 is to be phased out this year, the coalition government has ...

Recognition win at Walkers Snacks (118 words)

The GMB general union has won recognition at the Peterlee site of Walkers Snack Foods. The agreement covers all hourly paid staff including engineers, ...

Equality Act guide (173 words)

Significant changes to discrimination law were made when the Equality Act 2010 came into force on 1 October 2010. A new guide from the ...

Strong performance by UK manufacturing (120 words)

Manufacturing continued its recovery with a 13th consecutive three-monthly rise in output in the three months to November. ...

Issue 1

VAT rise ‘permanent’, says Osborne (477 words)

As the VAT rise to 20% kicked in on 4 January, chancellor Osborne defended the increase, saying it could boost employment and was better ...

Balance of payments shows deterioration (338 words)

Britain’s trading with the rest of the world deteriorated in the third quarter of 2010, according to the Office for National Statistics. The current ...

Travel expenses and minimum wage (291 words)

A change to the minimum wage regulations came into force on the 1 January after a legal challenge from a company failed. ...

Employers ignoring disadvantaged people (232 words)

Three-quarters of employers haven’t hired from disadvantaged groups, such as young people without qualifications, ex-offenders or older workers, in the last three years. ...

Employee reps are key in difficult times (249 words)

Employers should acknowledge the role employee representatives play in contributing to good employment relations and improving change management, says the conciliation and arbitration service ...

Scottish shopworkers failed by MSPs (189 words)

To the dismay of unions, the Scottish Parliament has voted down a Bill that would have given shopworkers and other public-facing staff the same ...

Rail fare rises funding fat cat pensions (303 words)

Rail passengers paying fare rises of up to 13% are funding gold-plated pensions for private rail bosses, the white collar rail union TSSA has ...